2008 Men's Golf Review

Rock Island, Ill. – With spring weather wreaking havoc on the 2008 portion of the Augustana men’s golf schedule, even the CCIW championship couldn’t escape unscathed. Weather conditions in Wheaton, Illinois on May 4 forced cancellation of the final round of the conference tournament as the Vikings finished eighth with a three round total of 324-317-356—997. The first two rounds were played in Bolingbrook, Illinois on April 18-19. Senior Andrew Benton (Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.) was the top finisher for Augustana with an 80-75-93—248, good for a 25th place tie.

The Augustana Invitational, scheduled for April 11-12, also fell victim to the weather, meaning coach Grey Giovanine’s Vikings were able to compete in just two events this spring prior to the CCIW championship.

The Vikings’ best finish this year came in September at Millikin’s Big Blue Classic, where they ended up third in a 14-team field. Individually, freshman Cole Wells (Tri-Valley HS, Downs, Ill.) finished in a third place tie with a 73-74—147. Senior Jeremy Smith (Clinton HS, Clinton, Ill.) finished tied for eighth with a 73-76—149 and Benton shot a 78-82—150, tying for 11th.

Benton averaged 79.7 strokes over nine rounds and was named Augustana’s “Most Outstanding Player”. Freshman Kyle Weigand (Leyden HS, Franklin Park, Ill.) was named “Newcomer of the Year” after averaging 82.3 strokes in 10 rounds of play. Weigand’s best finish was a tie for 22nd at the Big Blue Classic, when he also had his single best round of 75 on day two.

Wells averaged a team-best 77.8 strokes per round, although he played only four rounds this season. Smith averaged 82.4 over eight rounds of play and senior Eric Johnson (Vernon Hills HS, Vernon Hills, Ill.), last year’s CCIW individual champion, averaged 82.7 over his 10 rounds of competition. Another freshman, Bryan Hallene (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.), logged nine rounds of play and averaged 82.9 strokes a round. His best finish was a 14th place tie at the Big Blue Classic.

The Vikings finished the year with a 24-36 record and were ranked 155th in Division III by Golfstat.com.